Day 3 Kruger National Park - Skukuza to Berg-en-dal

During the night it rained. Woke me up about 0300hrs. Not too heavy but enough to make it annoying. Had to toddle off to the toilet block.

I didn't want to set off too early due to the amount of booze we drank last night. I slowed things down a bit just to take it easy and didn't actually leave the campsite til about 1000hrs. Previously we had been leaving at about 0800hrs or earlier.

Just outside of the campsite we came across our first (and only) hyena.

Took a long time to go a fairly short distance because we took side roads rather than the main direct route.

We saw animals we'd seen before. We were expecting to see rhino and the cats. On the back roads we saw plenty of rhino middens but no evidence of the rhino themselves. We saw giraffe, zebra, tortoises and warthogs.

Stopped for lunch at a stop called Afsaal. It is just for food. There is no camping there. Just outside on the main road we came across a pair of black rhino by a mud wallow. Couldn't see an awful lot due to the high grass so pictures are pretty pants.

Further on we saw a white rhino and her calf just pop out of the bushes for a bit. Got some pictures, before they hightailed back away from the road. Again these are on my main camera and will wait until I get home before posting them.

Rather than come into the night stop from the front we decided to head around the back. The roads were a bit more chewed up than others because it was quite hilly and the rain had put quite a few ruts in it. Still nothing we couldn't handle.

Arrived in Berg-en-dal about 1600hrs. I took a lot of time in the shop before getting back to the car so we could put up our tents. Luckily I took so long it started to thunder and rain so we went back to the office and asked for a chalet instead. Total cost for the two of us was R670. It is a single bedroom with attached galley. There is a shower toilet area. Soap and towels are provided.

Nice to be in a chalet for one night. Starting to get very tired with the early starts and late nights. We spent most of afternoon just chilling reading books etc. Setup the bbq briquettes and wood ready for lighting. Had to cover them up with the washing up bowl to keep them dry. I did bring the meat out as well to keep it nearby but Rich didn't like that idea because of civets. These are cat like creatures which have been known to whip away meat etc from the plate if you're not careful. Once it got dark we started with the braai supper. I did the veg while Rich did the meat. The cooker controls worked okay but the mounting for the knobs was a little unconventional